Love Eternal
by Fanatic4Fanfiction
Summary: Taka and Nathan, having acknowledged their love for one another and gotten married, spend one eventful evening together.


**Disclaimer: I do not own the movie that this fanfiction is written for or any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.**

_**Love Eternal**_

When he had first come here, Nathan Algren was only the man who had slain my husband. American, uncouth, and so reckless.

His slow but subtle transition into our way of life, a samurai, was something awe-inspiring. And I could not help but to love him, for he fought with the strength of heart. A heart that, I now knew belonged to me. We lay on the futon in our room, the balminess of late summer lulling us into a dozy embrace. One arm tightened securely around my waist and the other lay near my head, his hand intertwined in my own. I clung to him, completely content in his hold.

Nathan fulfilled so much the duties of a husband even above those of Hirotaro; he treated me with respect, and loved my children as his own, cherished me like a goddess. But there was one thing that we had yet to do. And our marriage was weeks prior.

He did not seem afraid, just reluctant for reasons at which I could only guess. I had been wanting for Nathan to share that ancient dance with me since our encounter at the hot springs, if I were to be honest with myself. And now, surrounded and intoxicated by him, the need grew too large to suppress.

"Nathan-chan." I softly coaxed him to awaken. He didn't stir. I straddled his waist and found my way to his lips, claiming them within my own.

"Wake up, love," I tried again, annoyed as I nipped at his neck for a reaction.

"Koishii," I said more urgently, raking my way through his longer hair. Then I kissed his full, half-open lips. I was met with a sleepy gaze of bluish-green.

"Mmmm. Taka-chan. I wish I could always wake this way…you must want something?" Nathan inquired. Rolling his neck to remove the kinks, he rubbed his half-lidded eyes.

"Yes, I did." I said hesitantly, trailing off. He quickly sat up with care, pulling me flush to him. It seemed we could never be near enough. I certainly felt that way.

"What was it?" Nathan whispered with fingers caressing my arms, the seductive timbre and touch all too much. I knew how flustered I must seem. His eyes searched mine, aqueous and large in concern.

I stammered, not sure how to say it. How could I pursue what was tradition to wait for?

He raised an eyebrow. "What did you wantt?"

"I want you to...want us to make love. I am ready now."

He gazed at me in dawning shock.

"I've been wanting to," I added timidly. "Just hadn't…"

Nathan gently cupped my chin and raised it. Then he took my hand with the most tenderness I'd ever felt.

"I didn't want to put any pressure of intimacy on you. Especially after what we've endured. You've felt this way, I can tell, for some time. Were you having doubts about it...or me?"

His entrancing stare locked me completely in place. Could I answer without seeming like a prude? Would he understand?

"If I told you that, it is not customary to ask so boldly for things such as-"

"—Sex?" Nathan finished for me with a quirked eyebrow. I must have burned bright as the sun as soon as he finished my sentence.

"That would make sense. But don't mind that. Taka-chan, name it, and I will give it. If you want this... "

I silenced his doubts with a kiss, and then nuzzled comfortably into his broad shoulder.

"I want this more than anything, Nathan-chan. Please let us share that gift."

His ivory cheeks flushed pink as he held me closer.

"Please," I breathed into his shoulder, "make love to me."

"With utmost pleasure."

Still locked in Nathan's embrace, I eased back as his knee slowly parted my legs. When his fingers fanned out to explore my thin cotton-covered skin, a satisfied purr hummed in his throat. We were no strangers to each other's wants, our weaknesses. He knew mine just as well. Softly suckling my neck, he undid the knot of my _obi_ with skillful fingers. I whimpered in pleasure at the feeling of him undressing me.

Nathan smiled, and kissed my collarbone delicately while continuing further. When the colorful binding unraveled, he let it fall and returned for the _juban_. It was burning me alive to wear, the material adhering to my heated skin like armor. Nathan pulled it down my shoulders and past my arms. With one swift, graceful movement, he left me naked before him. I laid down, head swimming in lust. My eyes opened, then fluttered closed as his hand lifted soothingly through my hair.

"Taka-chan," I heard him whisper. "You're too beautiful. Look at you..."

Nathan had such a way of making me feel exalted. He nestled himself into the waiting arch of my hips, robe masking his own arousal while touching mine. He reveled in the curve of my hips, the bareness of my shoulders, and I melted at his silky lips as they trekked to my peaked breasts with bites and licks.

As his kisses trailed lower and spotted my thighs; the need for him to satisfy became more intense. He caressed my stomach and rear as I bucked with ticklishness, and gripped them to hold me steady. I met his gaze again, unable to resist the sight of him.

I was like a sculpture in his hands: his to mold and do whatever he wanted with. He seemed to eternally have that effect on me. I spread my thighs slowly and placed them beside his head. Nathan situated himself at their apex before looking up. His eyes, lust darkening them by the second, bore into my own as he murmured, "You're sure?" He flexed his fingers upon my sensitive skin. I wanted to scream my response.

_YES, PLEASE, am I ever sure! _And when his rough yet gentle tongue brushed against my maidenhood, my body lost its tautness. The first firm lick sent me skyrocketing, and it was all I could do to ensure the entire village did not hear me.

Nathan continued to orally caress my folds, and a soft groan left him as my leg slid to rest on his shoulder. With an impassioned grip he held it there, as the other hand traveled over my bud and flicked it with thumb and index finger. I twitched violently at the raw sensation, losing control of myself to him.

"_Koishii_, oh, it's _good_...so much!"

Nathan withdrew from my wetness, lovingly sliding two fingers in and curving upward. A burst of enjoyment unfurled in my lower stomach. I writhed forth from the futon, gasping.

I heard him gulp, and he watched intently as I descended deeper into the frenzy of it. It surpassed verbal explanation, how sublime he was making me feel.

His name was a hoarse chant as he dove in once again, tracing tiny circles on my pleasure bud with expertise. My hands, having roamed over every reachable part of Nathan, held him in place. I felt him chuckle as he obliged and flattened his tongue against me. My entrance, wet with his attentions and my need, cried out for more.

He reinserted long, skillful fingers within me at a fast-paced thrust. I screamed in ecstasy, begging him not to stop; the feeling was so surreal, that it was as if I had taken a step into a realm above this one, and all was silent euphoria.

I came back from that state to find Nathan directly above me, kissing my forehead and stroking my waist.

"You all right?" His voice didn't seem to be close at all.

"Nathan," I said, unsure of my own voice. I shook my head, to clear it. "I'm fine," I assured him, sitting up and holding him.

"Did you find that to your liking, Taka-chan?"

I grinned knowingly at him. "You ask what you already know, Nathan-chan. That felt **wonderful**."

When he made to lay on his side, I pushed him back and settled atop his waist.

"Taka-chan?" he spoke, looking up at my face with visible restraint. My wetness was touching the bottom of his thighs, which tensed when I re-situated myself.

"It is my turn to pleasure you now, _koishii_."

"…Taka." His gorgeous eyes penetrated mine. I was rather taken by surprise with his intentness, as well as the lack of the honorific.

"I'm not pressured, or forced, Nathan-chan…I want to do this. For you."

He was silent for a moment or two, then relaxed and laid back. I leaned down against him and took Nathan's lips into mine. Through his half-open _yukata_ my fingers massaged the plane of his chest.

I admittedly loved it, to see him so exposed yet still hidden from me. Nathan bit his lip in anticipation as my breath skated down the hollow of his throat. When I nibbled at it, he exhaled in a shudder.

I felt him against my thigh during my exploration, and decided that enough was enough. I wanted him entirely open to my eyes. And as I pointed to the half-loosened tie of his _yukata_, no hint of the shyness I possessed was to be found. He obliged fully grinning.

Nathan pulled the garment out from under him with a sharp tug, as I pushed the cotton from his midsection. His length was stiff, beautifully proportioned and proud against tensing stomach muscles.

Shimmying my way down his legs, I stroked him between my hands. Nathan groaned as my mouth laid soft, lingering kisses around the base of him. He went slack-jawed, looking down at me with newly untapped desire.

"Taka-chan, what you're d-doing—"

I tightened until he emitted a small cry, and sucked voraciously on the tip. He eased deeper into my mouth, until it had begun to rub my throat, and I backed away. He slipped from my lips with a pop, moist and throbbing. My fingers constricted around his manhood greedily. I wanted to feel him move, squirm, surrender for me.

"_Koishii_," Nathan moaned softly. I loved to know he was as enraptured as I had been. I gently kissed his inner thighs, my breasts pressed firmly over them. And it was then that I felt his strong grip slide into my hair and guide me back to his manhood.

A deep, sensual submission arrested me as I dug my nails into his thighs, and allowed him to position himself in hand before plundering my waiting mouth. I felt my eyes water and walls tremble at Nathan's dominance. His release was soon, and I feverishly worked to make it come.

"Oh, Taka-chan, oh, Ta-TA—KA..."

My husband spasmed underneath me with a choked stutter, his essence on my tongue—the taste that so personified him. More and more flowed from his softening hardness, until he caressed my chin and I rose to collect myself.

He resumed a sitting posture, my hips in his hands as we broke our kiss. His eyes were half-open, sated, and reverent.

"You're the death of me." Nathan paused to thumb my bottom lip and lock gazes with me. "Was I too rough with you?"

"Y-yes and no."

He looked worried, eyebrows lowered guiltily as his tone did the same. "Did I do something you found uncomfortable?"

"I was in heaven every moment of it. I'm surprised at how much. Especially...the rough."

Nathan blinked slowly. Then a chuckle, and his hands dipping down the small of my back. "I learn something more about you every moment."

I wrapped my arms around Nathan's neck and basked in the warm afterglow of him. "What have you learned now?"

He pulled me closer, his forehead to mine. "That as much as you take charge in our daily life, the story changes when we are alone."

I cleared my throat and nodded, unable to suppress a giggle. Nathan was quite the expert at reaching correct conclusions. With a smirk, he ran his tongue along my lips and took them teasingly.

"As I won't force you into intimacy, neither do you have to be submissive. It's better if the choice is both of ours."

I agreed. And as we caressed one another and shared another kiss, his stiffness I could feel curving against my rear. It was time to grant my wish.

"You are of a mind to do this without guilt?" he whispered into my ear.

I nodded decisively as he maneuvered himself to brush along my walls.

"Are you sure, my love?" He found my gaze. "This might hurt more than your first time, Taka-chan. You're prepared?"

"I am," I replied, bracing myself for whatever pain may come.

He entered with hitched breath. Then there came a numb pang that made me grimace.

"It will get better. I promise, my love."

He began to move, with slower thrusts.

The faintest moan tumbled forth from both our lips as we moved in unison. And all throughout this sluggish rhythm, I was starting to feel a very powerful sensation surge inside of me. I grabbed his hips, silently pleading to go faster. And so he did. I could feel his body flexing when he reversed with rapid precision.

I found that I could not stop myself from cursing; he was unleashing a passion that I had never known.

"Nathan-chan," I uttered in an amorous whisper," I—I can't…OH…"

He continued to thrust deeper, harder, raising his knees with a perfect grip on my waist.

"Believe how perfect you feel? Neither can I," Nathan panted as he lunged to the hilt, his hips ricocheting from the futon. We cried out in ecstasy. I leaned back as Nathan made to go rougher, sweat glistening on his brow.

My eyes widened as an overwhelming sense of climactic passion pulsed through me, and I gripped his shoulders as he filled me. When I wound my hips to feel him further, Nathan commanded me to continue. My serpentine rhythm grew to a frenetic pace, and I tired against him.

He embraced me and pivoted his hips forcefully—this man was completely in control of me.

"Don't stop," I moaned, "Nathan-chan…"

"Not until I bring you there. I feel how much you love me taking you, Taka-chan," were the words Nathan seethed, punctuated with deep, purposeful snaps of his hips. "You're tight, and fluttering around me...like silk." He slid his hands down my thighs and bit my neck softly.

I clenched his biceps so viciously that nails entered skin. His eyes dilated with temptation.

"I love it so much, I love you, making me feel like this...oh, N-Nathan-cha—MMMM. I'm so clo—"

He reached down to tweak me between his dexterous fingers, and I shrieked his name to the heavens.

"Nathan, OH—OH, NATHANNN!"

And suddenly, I was no longer in his arms, but somewhere among the stars, my soul completely free of mind and absorbed in the feeling. My love came into view beneath me, trying to regain the breath that climax coveted.

I cradled his head in my arms, his warm breath against my chest. Nathan then moved to pull himself from me. Climax trailed down his spent sex, and my exhausted thighs. He gingerly took his discarded _yukata_, lifted me up, and wiped down the moisture pooled upon our bodies. I rewarded him with a kiss, which he reciprocated with grace.

"Let's rest." And with that, he pulled the sheets about us and let me rest upon him.

Moments of content went by as we lay locked in that beautiful embrace, his arms tucked around my shoulders and lower back.

"So why did you think I would doubt you?" I finally said to rupture the silence, but I regretted its lack of tact once uttered.

It was a significant while before Nathan decided to respond. Then, with a stir and a deep sigh, he answered, "Because you would have your reasons. And I…I'm far from perfect."

I nestled against him comfortingly, cheek to his sternum, until moisture seeped into my hair.

"Nathan-chan, my hair is w—"

And as I drew myself up to face him, his rugged face shone with two trails of tears. Their bitterness was unspoken, his pain lucid as the crystalline drops that fell unbidden. I did not know what to do or say.

Nathan's eyes opened but avoided mine, as if the demons were his to bear alone: away from judging eyes.

"I was always wishing for something more in the violent stretch of my life. Always worrying that the darkness inside of me will come back. The nightmares. But then, it stopped," he spoke quietly.

Glassy eyes like the ocean waves regained focus and gently observed me.

"As soon as I saw you there…at the spring." He smiled wearily. "How radiant you were, Taka. If you could only see yourself as I did."

I put my hand to my mouth and sniffled.

He continued, "I had never seen something so gorgeous in the years I lived, anywhere. I couldn't **think **when I looked at you. The words I said before I left were harder than you know."

I was crying uncontrollably, trying to compose myself.

"I couldn't deny then that, I had fallen in love. The weight vanished. That realization created a peace in my soul that remains there still. And every day I spend with you, Taka, it's growing."

The sobs kept coming, wracking my body with such vigor that speech was unachievable. His callous fingers found my face and brushed my own tears away.

"It's all right, _koishii_."

I kissed his hand and threw myself upon him in an emotional tangle.

"I loved you too. I LOVE you too, Nathan. Your presence calms me, gives me happiness. And I am no longer afraid to say that since that same day, I have always wanted you by my side. That...is what you should never doubt."

Nathan's arms tightened as if I were the only anchor on Earth to keep him tethered.

"Thank you," he whispered, trembling lips against my own. "In so many more ways than one."

Hirotaro was never one to show his emotions to anyone, not even me or our children. He beat Higen with a _shinai _for crying once when a boy struck his finger during a sparring match. And it was because of Hirotaro that I hated to show any catharsis; too scared was I of reprimand or criticism.

But here Nathan was, deconstructing the shield that he built around himself and CONSOLING me while I took down my own. We admitted our doubts, our fears for the better part of an hour, until I yawned and he brought me back to his chest.

"Mmmm," I sighed as he rubbed my back in languid circles. "Your hands."

"So, now do you feel that our marriage is complete?"

I blushed. "Nathan-chan, I never said that it was not."

"Oh, but you were thinking that, weren't you?"

"No. Because I am completed by your love. Not merely making love."

Nathan's face softened more, and he gently stroked back my messy waves.

"I look forward to making love to you again."

"Now?" I replied in incredulity. I didn't know if I could withstand such a session again…

"What if Higen and Magojiro wake? I am surprised they did not come before."

"The children? In-…haha, indeed."

"Imagine if they walked in!"

Nathan chuckled, then gave into outright laughter at this statement, wrinkles of happiness all over his handsome face.

I was less than amused. "What is so humorous about what I said?"

"After I took my fill of you, our Magojiro knocked on the door. I told him that you were having a nightmare like mine."

My eyes must have widened to the size of saucers when Nathan reassured me, "I told him there was no need to worry. And I don't think now would be the right time to tell him about how children are made."

"But what is funny about that?" I lamented.

Nathan ran a hand back through his hair.

"That when _I_ was younger I had the misfortune and stupidity to enter my mother and father's room during the same situation," he said with mirth in his eyes and voice. "Oh, that boy…"

His happiness was contagious, and I found myself smiling as well. I would explain to Magojiro my "nightmare" in the morning.

"Perhaps soon we could have another," were the seductive words I did not know I had.

Nathan stared pointedly. Was that lust or indignation? Before I could retract what I had said he cloaked us with the sheets.

A soft mewl broke the stillness of the morning air.

~終わり~

End

_**Author's Notes: I really liked the ambiguous love between these two characters in The Last Samurai and set out to make their relationship substantial. It may seem mushy, I know, but I'm a sucker for romance. Hope you enjoyed!**_

**_~Fanatic For Fanfiction_**

_**P.S. A real mood-setter for this was 'Way of Life' by Hans Zimmer on the official soundtrack. =)**_


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